Naples woman sues ex-husband for bigger cut of Lotto prize

NAPLES (AP) -- A Naples woman has filed suit against her ex-husband, saying she is not getting her fair share of a Florida Lotto prize the couple won 13 years ago.

Helene Dinand, 37, said she gets $60,000 annually from her ex-husband, Marcel Imbert, 63. Dinand's share is about one-sixth of the estimated $359,800 post-tax sum Imbert receives each year from lottery officials.

Imbert's attorney, Vicki Ho, said Dinand is getting the $60,000 because that's all she asked for when the couple divorced in 1997.

"Helene requested the settlement and the division of proceeds, and she received what she requested," Ho said.

Dinand said she was not represented in the divorce. She has hired attorney David McElrath to represent her in the civil suit, which does not have a scheduled start date.

McElrath said Dinand never intended to settle for $60,000 annually. She claims that amount were her share of the annual interest on the winnings, which she thought were building in a trust.

The couple held one of five winning tickets from the April 7, 1990, drawing worth $58,320,000 -- then the largest jackpot in Florida Lotto history. They selected to accept their share in a 20-year annuity, but now, at Dinand's attorney's request, the Florida Lottery has stopped issuing those annual payments until the lawsuit is settled.